Miguel Cotto Reclaims Mantle in Cathartic Pugilistic Exhibition

“The sure way to be cheated is to think one’s self more cunning than others”

Miguel Cotto vindicated his stature as a talent of era defining proportions with a professional & systematic dismantling of the last vestiges of the Tijuana Breeze that has replaced the once revered pound-for-pound player also known as Antonio Margarito. Margarito walks away with yet further permanent damage to his right eye & what one might justifiably assume to be his last significant multi-million dollar payday but that aftertaste lingers – if not for Cotto himself, not just at this moment – the sweet taste of redemption overwhelms for the time being any such inconvenient infractions upon his soul’s palate.

For everyone else, though, the bitter aftertaste of suspicion & an overwhelming crescendo of unsettling moral indignation remains. What transpired at Madison Square Garden’s hallowed cathedral of the pugilistic art-form Saturday night was a tale of adversity overcome – of the indestructibility of talent. Cotto’s redemption as a prize fighter was a very public & a very dignified tribute to the highest ideals of the legacy of the sport. Whilst most in the sport would now wish to see the entire Margarito episode consigned to the scrapheap of boxing’s unfortunate anomalies I clamor for a meaningful & fruit-bearing introspection by our sport.

His “alleged” transgression & the logical implications for his entire career prior have ramifications for boxing that we ignore at our ultimate peril. The sport of boxing extracts a heavy toll from its participants over the fullness of time – they parlay their long term well-being in a spirited & honorable pursuit of the mere distant possibility of violently branding their name into ring legend. We OWE them that much. This should never happen again – lest we forget.